Little by Little
by here-not-there
Summary: Emily helps Mick after a hard case with one phone call. Emily/Mick friendship


**A/N: This is set after Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior's last week's episode but there wasn't a section for that and Emily is in the story so I figured it would be okay to throw this into the Criminal Minds fandom (?) For those that didn't watch the show: there was a sniper that was getting personal with Mick, taunting him to stop him in time. **

**OH and in this story, Emily and the team has already taken down Ian Doyle. **

**Disclaimer: If Criminal Minds and Suspect Behavior were mine, I wouldn't make JJ leave nor would I do anything to Emily. **

* * *

Mick stepped into his empty apartment after heading home from the drinks with the gang. Dropping his keys on the table by the door, he shrugged off his leather jacket and tossed it onto the couch as he plopped down besides it himself. He buried his face in his ands and let out a frustrated growl. Out of habit, he ruffled his hair, fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed a familiar number without hesitation.

After a few rings, the other person finally picked up.

"Hello?" The feminine voice on the other end sounded a bit breathless.

"Caught you in the middle of somethin', love?" he teased with a grin when hearing the familiar voice.

He heard her chuckle, "What if I told you that I stepped out mid-shower to get your call?"

"Then I would be breaking every traffic rule in the book so I could get to your loft before you finish that shower, Agent Prentiss," Mick flirted.

The two kept in touch ever since they first met in San Fransisco. At first it was just meeting up for a few drinks with the gangs whenever they could find a mutual time, then it was phone calls almost every evening. The flirtation between them was even more evident than the usual between Morgan and Emily, but despite that, Mick and Emily were still just platonic friends.

Mick heard Emily laugh through the phone. And he could honestly say that it was the most comforting sound to hear after a long, hard case. Especially after a case just like the one they just wrapped up.

Emily made a tsk-ing sound, "Agent Rawson, what would your boss say when he hears your reasoning for challenging the law?"

Mick grinned, "Naw, I'm way too important for the team to get into any trouble from Coop."

He heard Emily scoff and mumble something that sounded like "egotistical bastard."

"Hey! I heard that!"

Emily chuckled, "I know, otherwise I would've called you something worse."

"Comforting," he mock-complained.

They both chuckled.

"Long day?" Mick asked after a few seconds.

Emily sighed, "Paperwork, regrettable alien-chat with Reid, paperwork, coffee break with the girls, paperwork and more paperwork. The day could've been worse if I hadn't found Morgan to be the scrape goat when Reid came around for round two."

Mick chuckled. This was one of the reasons he loved talking to her. She always made him laugh even when he thought it was the last thing possible.

"Hard case?" Emily asked, "I heard about your LDSK."

"News travels around the BAU that fast, eh?"

He could almost hear Emily shrug, "PG tends to make it a habit to keep me in the loop when you guys are on a case. Especially when someone is down the barrel of a gun. Or in this case, a riffle."

"Worried about me, love?" he asked with a tease, trying to keep the mood light.

He heard her chuckle, but it wasn't as lighthearted as usual.

A moment of silence passed before he heard her say, "I know what it's like to be targeted after, Mick. I know what it's like when you know that people are dying because of you."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head, rubbing his temple with his free hand.

Of course she knew, how was he stupid enough to think that she wouldn't bring this up.

He sighed and guessing from Emily's own sigh, his sigh was louder than he intended it to be.

"I know, Em, I just...this is different."

She didn't say anything, just waiting for him to compose his thoughts.

"These people were trophies to him. _Things_ that could taunt me, that could prove himself to his father. They were game pieces to him, Em!" he spat, running another hand through his hair.

"Did Penelope tell you that he sent me a pager? BANG BANG. He _told me_ he'd kill two people and I wasn't able to stop him! One of the vics had two little girls, now they'll grow up not knowing their father!"

She was silent.

He was silent.

Seconds that seemed like hours pasted before he heard her soft voice in the phone.

"BANG BANG BANG. There were three more and you saved them. Not to mention the fifty other potential vics AND Gina's life," Emily took a breath before continuing, "You can't save them all, Mick, but you stopped him from killing more."

He knew she was right but it wasn't able to remove the guilt that was slowly crushing him.

"How did you deal with it?"

"You mean how _do_ I deal with it?" Emily corrected, "I don't know," he heard her say, hearing the sound of her hair scratching the speaker as she shook her head, "I try to occupy myself with other things. But I'm not going to lie, there are nights that I can't close my eyes and not see the bodies of the people Ian Doyle killed to get to me. It was hard at first, but I started to realize that even though I couldn't stop him from killing the others, I stopped him from killing more, from killing my team. It's a hard and slow process, but I promise you Mick, the pain does ease, even if just a bit."

He let her words sink in, feeling a teeny tiny bit better. This was the start.

"Hey, thanks, love."

"Anytime," Emily replied.

He heard her clear her throat and the sound of her adjusting her phone before she continued, "Now could you please open the door?"

"What?" Confusion was all over Mick's face upon hearing Emily's statement.

"Your apartment door. You know, the big wooden thing that separates your space from the hallway," Emily teased.

Mick walked over to the door, still flabbergasted about the situation.

"I know what a door is, Agent Smarty Pants," Mick teased back as he took the chain-bolt off, "I just don't under- "

Mick stopped midsentence when he opened the door to find Emily standing right there with a pizza box balanced on her left hand and a DVD on top. "Hungry?" she grinned as she snapped her phone shut.

Mick shook his head, confused at the situation but being raised as a gentleman, he stepped aside to let her in.

"Can't find a reason to reject pizza,"

Emily playfully nudged him with her shoulder, "Thank you Emily for being an amazing friend that has amazing advice and for bringing me pizza."

Mick chuckled, "Yes, Emily, thank you. Now do you mind telling me who called you?"

"You did," Emily grinned, "Along with PG and Prophet before that."

Mick smiled, of course they did. He took a piece of pizza and bit into it before he realized.

He turned to Emily, who was now sitting besides him on the couch, "You weren't really coming out of the shower when I called, were you?"

* * *

**Another A/N: I'm a strong supporter of HP but I've liked Mick since he first appeared. Romance between him and Emily is potential but I won't get into that yet. :) **

**Love to hear from y'all! :) **

**Have a nice one!**


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